Do you think you have Britain’s best new business idea?
Well…if you do, you ought to think seriously about entering The Pitch.
Now in its 5th year, The Pitch is the UK’s largest small business competition. But you don’t need to be an established small business to enter. If at the moment all you have is simply an idea for a viable business, then you can enter too.

Here’s what you need to know :

What happens?

– Over the summer, there will be a series of judging days held in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and 20 contestants picked from each country to become “The Pitch 80”.
– The Pitch 80 will then compete at “The Pitch Live” a new 2 day conference held in Liverpool in October
– Four winners will be selected who will then go through to The Pitch 2012 Grand Final
– Another 16 entrants will compete for votes over social media for a “wildcard” place which will be decided by the public
– The wildcard winner and the 4 winners from “The Pitch Live” will then compete for the prize in the Grand Final which will be held on 16 November in London

Who can enter?

– any UK resident who is 16 years old or over at time of entry
– any UK based privately owned company which has been established for 3 years or less at the time of entry
– anyone who has a viable business idea, even if they don’t currently have a business, provided they meet the age and residency criteria

What can be won?

The Prize worth £50000 includes Business Support, Software, Products, Media Coverage, PR and Mentoring. Some highlights from last year included :
– An advertising package from Yell
– 12 months mentoring with serial entrepreneur and Pitch judge Karen Darby
– Social Media training from Dan Martin, Businesszone.co.uk editor
– Financial Planning and Management from Barclays

The full prize package which is still being added to, can be read here.

Of course there are a whole host of benefits to be gained from simply entering !
There are the networking opportunities with hundreds of other entrepreneurs, the brand awareness that being associated with The Pitch will give you and your idea and of course the advice and expertise you will receive from the judges and other industry experts.

So, go on then, what’s stopping you. Click here to enter today.

If you are looking to start your own business, think you have a creative idea or you are a self starting business champion then find out more about Startacus the online community celebrating the self starter – launching soon…